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Down upon the Suwannee River, courtesy
of the Florida State Archives

In

the spring of 1860, a group of pioneer residents on an
expedition of Peas Creek, noticed a cattle crossing:

At 7 o'clock we came to what seemed to be a crossing place for cattle. Ithad the appearance of being a kind of forceford, having two strings of log
fences, made in funnel shape, widening from the river to the pine woods. And
such a fence! The reader will know but little about it without further
description. It was built of forks, and logs, log chains and trace chains! One
of our party being an observing man, remarked, "That looks like some of Capt.
Hooker’s work." Sure enough, on our return, we learned that it was one of his
cattle fords. Capt. H. makes his mark wherever he goes, as well upon the earth
and rivers and trees of South Florida, as upon his numerous stock of cattle.1.

By 1860, William Brinton Hooker was the "cattle king of Florida," owner of
over 10,000 head of open range beef cattle. If he had looked out from the piazza
or porch of his thirty-three-room home on Madison Street in Tampa and felt
satisfied with his accomplishments, Hooker could be excused. For over forty
years he had played a prominent role in the pioneer life of south Georgia and
Florida.2

William Brinton Hooker, 1800
- 1871, author's collection

William B. Hooker was born May 3, 1800, in Montgomery (now Tattnall) County,
Georgia, the eldest child of Stephen and Elizabeth (Brinton) Hooker.

The ancestral line has been traced back to William Hooker who lived in Surry
County, Virginia, in 1687. Searching for new land, he joined many others who
moved over into North Carolina in the 1690s. William left a will in Chowan
Precinct of Albemarle County in 1717, naming seven children, including a son
William, Jr.

The younger William, also a yeoman farmer, inherited his father's plantation
and died in Bertie County in 1756. In his will he listed five sons: William
(III), John, James, Nathan and Stephen. All were prominent citizens. John was
sheriff of Tyrrell County in 1757 and represented his county in the General
Assembly from 1771 to 1777. Stephen, a weaver, served in the Colonial Assembly
in 1760, was captain of the militia in Tyrrell's "Scuppernong District" and held
the position of deputy sheriff under his brother, John. William (III) moved to
Dobbs County, where he was active in local affairs and served in the American
Revolution. James lived in Hertford County where he was ensign in a militia
company in 1770. Nathan Hooker pioneered to Georgia about 1762, settling in St.
George Parish, later Burke County, where he became wealthy in cattle and lands.
He died in 1781, leaving a widow, Martha (Jones) Hooker, but apparently no
children. His brothers continued to live in North Carolina but William (III) and
his son Heymrick, obtained grants in Burke County, Georgia, in 1786 and 1789.
John Hooker also had land in Burke County in 1768. Georgia was clearly a place
that offered new opportunities for the Hooker family. Nathan Hooker, the son of
William (III), was living next to the Canoochee River in Montgomery County in
1797. Stephen Hooker, the son of James Hooker, first appears in public records
in Washington County, Georgia, May 13, 1793, when he was commissioned a first
lieutenant in the militia. The following year, Stephen was listed as a dragoon
in another company. Throughout the 1780s and 1790s, the settlers in that part of
frontier Georgia were in fear of Indian raids. He served on the grand jury in
Washington County in 1796 and moved to Montgomery County in 1799 where he had
been a witness to a deed to Nathan, two years earlier. Stephen married Elizabeth
Brinton, daughter of the late sheriff of Washington County, Major William
Brinton. Brinton was an energetic man: a surveyor, sheriff and militia officer.
Stephen Hooker, born in 1769, was ten years older than his bride who was a
native of North Carolina. In 1801, Tattnall County was formed from Montgomery
and Stephen and his family first lived next to the Ohoopee River on a 100 acre
tract. In this coastal wiregrass community, they raised a family of eight
children, the eldest, William Brinton, being named after his maternal
grandfather. In 1806, Stephen was living in neighboring Bulloch County, but by
1810 he and his family had returned to Tattnall. His first cousin, Nathan, had
moved on by 1807 to Tennessee and later Mississippi, but several years earlier,
in one of their business dealings, Stephen had given Nathan a note evidencing a
debt. Nathan later assigned the note to another party and Stephen was
unsuccessfully sued by the holder in 1818. As a way to supplement his income,
Stephen Hooker, in 1815, obtained a license to "retail spiritous liquors" at his
residence. How this squared with his wife's strong Methodist leanings is not
known. Under rules set by the Inferior Court in 1810, Stephen was allowed to
charge twenty-five cents for each one-half pint of cognac brandy; eighteen and
three-fourth cents for rum; twelve and one-half cents for brandy; eighteen and
three-fourths cents for Holland gin and eighteeen and three-fourth cents for
wine. "Cyder" sold for twelve and one-half cents per quart. By 1817, the family
had moved to the Canoochee River section in the 401st militia district of
Tattnall County, an area that had been attached to Tattnall from Liberty County
in 1811.

Nothing is known about young Bill Hooker's education. He may have attended
one of the six academies which existed in Georgia at the turn of the nineteenth
century. Savannah, Sunbury, Augusta or Burke County were not that far away. He
may have been tutored by a learned neighbor or schooled at home. Whatever the
case, he received the basis of a good education.3

In 1819, Bill received his first public office, ensign in the militia, and
three years later he served as coroner of Tattnall County. Still unmarried in
1824, he joined his parents and six brothers and sisters in a move to Appling
County in south Georgia. In August of that year the Inferior Court appointed
Hooker sheriff. In December 1824, Ware County was created from Appling, with the
county seat at Waresboro, now a small community a few miles west of present-day
Waycross. William Hooker became captain of the 451st militia district at
Waresboro in 1827 and thus first earned the title he was to carry the rest of
his life. He was also elected Ware County’s second sheriff in 1828. Perhaps the
major event in his law-enforcement career occurred in 1829 when Hooker was
commended by Governor John Forsyth for capturing a band of white rustlers. John
McDonald and the Stafford brothers and one Tucker had killed Indian Billy of
Ware County and stolen his horses. McDonald and the Staffords were apprehended
and the stolen horses were retaken. A reward was then offered for Tucker who had
fled over into Florida.4

Bill Hooker also had time to father an illegitimate child, Winaford
Henderson, July 10, 1827. But he accepted responsibility for his daughter by
taking her into his home and rearing her. He also had her legitimized by the
Georgia legislature with her name changed to Winaford Hooker.5

His younger brother, James Tarpley Hooker, moved over into Florida about
1826, and by 1830 the remainder of the family settled along the Suwannee River
in Hamilton County. On August 1, 1830, at the age of thirty, William B. Hooker
was married to Mary Amanda Hair, the daughter of William Hair, in a ceremony
performed by the Reverend James Hutto, one of the earliest circuit-riding
Methodist preachers in south Georgia and north Florida. The following year, in
Hamilton County, Bill registered the WH brand for his cattle. He was appointed a
justice of the peace in 1831 and began accumulating property, eventually owning
489 acres of land near Upper Mineral Springs, known today as White Springs.
Justice of the Peace Hooker had jurisdiction over a district and also met
periodically with the other justices "for county purposes" when they exercised
administrative and legislative powers over county affairs. In 1834 the
Legislative Council granted William B. Hooker authority to establish a ferry
across the Suwannee River at the site of his plantation. Rates established by
the county court in 1839 allowed him to charge $1.00 for each loaded wagon and
team that crossed the river, fifty cents for each yoke of oxen and cart, twelve
and one-half cents for a man and horse, and various other charges for animals
and conveyances. Hooker also purchased fifteen shares of stock in the newly
formed Union Bank of Florida, according to a list of 1833-1835 shareholders.
Mary's father, William Hair, was an active Primitive Baptist but Mary joined the
Methodists after she married Bill Hooker. The family ties to Methodism were
further strengthened by the marriage of Hooker's sister Mary to Levi Pearce and
Nancy to Benjamin Moody. Pearce became a Methodist preacher and Moody was a
lifelong pillar of the church. Methodist camp meetings were held as early as
1835 at Swift Creek, only about five miles northwest of Hooker's residence,
which was now known as "Hooker's Ferry." The Hookers were regular attendants at
camp meeting.6

Union Bank of Florida Note 1835

In December 1835, when war with the Indians was imminent, William B. Hooker
joined Captain John McLemore’s company as third lieutenant. The company was
composed mostly of Hamilton and Columbia County men. McLemore was initially
headquartered at Fort Jennings, or Suwannee Old Town. By late December 1835, the
captain and about 250 refugees abandoned the area and moved to Newnansville.
Left in charge at Fort Jennings was Lieutenant William B. Hooker and a tiny
detachment.7 On January 17, 1836, Hooker was crossing his men and horses
over the Suwannee, near Old Town. The Tallahassee Floridian reported that
Hooker

finding the opposite bank in possession of about 30 Indians, crossed
over with nine men to attack them. As he landed, two of his men were shot down
one with nine balls, the other with five. With his remaining men, he boldly
charged the enemy. While thus engaged, . . . he was
left with no alternative but victory or death. After a close and deadly
contest of some minutes, the savages were routed with severe loss.8

In the fall of 1836, Hooker was serving as third lieutenant in Captain
William Reed’s company of Florida Mounted Militia. He participated in the Battle
of Wahoo Swamp on November 21, 1836, and Lieutenant Colonel Mills cited Hooker
along with Capt. Reed and a fellow lieutenant for "correct and soldier-like
conduct"9 Colonel Benjamin K. Pierce praised Hooker and several others for
"behav[ing] throughout the day with great energy and bravery."10 From June 16 to
December 18, 1837, he served as first lieutenant in Captain Robert Brown's
company, mustering in at Fort Lancaster (Lake City), about twenty-five miles
from Hooker's Ferry. When he was discharged at Fort Gilleland he listed one
servant named Bill, who had accompanied him on the campaign, along with two
horses. Hooker received rations and forage for his service and the records show
that his pay was due from enrollment. The war continued to drag on into the
summer of 1838 when new Indian attacks prompted Brown, now a colonel, to urge
the calling out of more volunteer companies. He was authorized to do so by
Governor Call in April, even if the army command declined to accept them into
Federal service. One of the companies enrolled by Brown was commanded by Captain
William B. Hooker. Hooker's company served on the frontier from April to July of
1838. In 1840, he hired out his wagon to the U.S. military and received $369 in
reimbursement. With most of the pioneer settlers forced to abandon their
agricultural pursuits due to the Indian war and frequently stay in forts and
stockades away from their homes, military service provided a welcome supplement
to their income. One cynical army officer observed in July 1838:

. . . the volunteers and militia want to be mustered into service to get
pay and rations. . . These people would be satisfied if all could get pay and
rations and forage for horses, and would have no fear of Indians though a few
are scattered throughout the country--it is for the interest of all here
except the wealthy planters, never to have the war ended.11

This attitude was typical of some in the regular army command
but the fact remains that Indian attacks in the Suwannee River Valley were not
uncommon throughout the Second Seminole War and caused a major disruption in the
lives of the pioneer settlers.

Florida Constitution
Memorial, courtesy of the Florida State Archives

In October 1838, elections were held for the upcoming territorial
constitutional convention at St. Joseph. Hamilton County was entitled to two
delegates and Joseph Watts took that prize in the first election. However,
there was a tie for second place between William B. Hooker and Appleton
Rosseter. A second election was held and Hooker was the victor. The
convention met on December 3, 1838, and in a twenty-seven to twenty-six vote
with Hooker in the majority, Judge Robert Raymond Reid was elected President
of the convention. Hooker was appointed to the Committee on the Right of
Suffrage and Qualification of Officers. He joined fellow Democrats when he
consistently took an anti-bank position in his floor votes. However, he
voted against a proposal for ad valorem taxation of lands. But he was in the
majority when he voted against a proposal that would have required a belief
in God as a requirement for holding public office. Hooker returned to
Hamilton County in early 1839 and the following year he was appointed
Justice of the Peace by the new territorial governor, Robert R. Reid.12

Though not a wealthy planter, Hooker, by 1840, owned six slaves, a
substantial amount of land and was a leader in the county’s politics and
government. He also purchased a section of land in Columbia County at the
site of Ichetucknee Springs. Financial reverses soon followed and by 1841,
in the midst of a territory-wide depression, Hooker was forced to supplement
his income by teaching school. He was paid $16.83 for teaching three
students arithmetic and spelling. He also taught grammar to his younger
brother, John. The Armed Occupation Act of 1842 proved to be Hooker’s
salvation, but his departure from Hamilton County the following year was not
a graceful one. In January 1843, he offered for sale his lands in Hamilton
and Columbia counties. At the same time, he transferred the 489 acres in
Hamilton to his brother John, in trust for his children: Winaford Meryan;
Ann Elizabeth, born in 1831; Eliza Jane, born in 1833; Martha Harris, born
in 1835; William Jasper, born in 1836; Julia Loretta, born in 1839; and Mary
Henrietta, born in 1842. Creditors were pursuing Hooker but he asserted that
the land transfer was for the sole purpose of complying with the terms of
the Armed Occupation Act. At any rate, the Hamilton county property was
eventually sold in 1845 at a sheriff’s sale. Additional insight into the
1845 sale can be found in an 1851 letter from former Hamilton County Clerk
Perry Green Wall to William B. Hooker:

At the request of your Father in law, Mr. Hair, I drop you a few lines
in reference to the manner in which your lands in Hamilton County, Fla.
were disposed of. I think I told you all the particulars of this case once
at my house in Hamilton, but presuming that you do not remember them now I
will make a statement in writing which in substance is about as follows,
viz, On the morning of the sale Mr. Purviance came to me and said that he
wanted to buy the land for his son, Alexander, and did not wish for me to
bid against him. I told him that I was going to bid in the land for you.
He said if I did he should think hard of me. I nevertheless persisted
until I bid off two lots, maybe three, I don’t exactly remember as to
that, but Purviance seemed to getting out of temper, and as I had neither
seen or heard from you on the subject of this matter, and fearing that you
instead of taking it as a friendly kindness would consider that the land
was not subject to such sale, I finally gave way to Purviance telling him
he had to pay at least the amount of the execution & costs for the land
which he did, now your only chance to recover I think will be on the
ground of this collusion of Purviance, there being no other competition
but myself. These facts you prove by me if you desire to do so, and having
this before you I would advise you to take this showing to some able
attorney and he will advise before you enter into an expensive law
suit---. . .13Click Here to see the letter.

From the St. Augustine Florida
Herald and Southern Democrat, January 23, 1843

In January 1843, William Hooker filed an Armed Occupation Act application for
160 acres of previously unsurveyed land in Hillsborough County, Florida.
Formerly known as the Marsh Place, it was located at Simmons Hammock or
present-day Seffner. The "road from Tampa Bay to Pease Creek" ran through the
north side of the tract. A permit followed in April 1843 and when the land was
surveyed in the first quarter of that year, the surveyor showed Hooker’s claim
on his map. Less than a mile to the north were the Thomas and John Weeks claims
which Hooker later purchased. Nearby to the east was a body of water that became
known as Lake Hooker. About three miles east of his homestead was the tract of
John Parker, who had married the widow of Hooker’s brother, Stephen. About six
miles to the southeast, near the Alafia River, were the claims of John Hooker
and Levi Pearce. Also, within two miles to the south was the homestead of
William Parker, who in 1844 married William Hooker’s daughter Winaford. At Camp
Ground Lake, about four miles northwest of Captain Hooker's homestead, Methodist
services were held as early as 1845 at the site of present-day Bethlehem
Cemetery. Historian John Solomon Otto observed that the early Hillborough County
cattle-ranchers followed a lifestyle

that originated in the coastal flatwoods of the Carolinas and Georgia. The
inhabitants of the coastal pinewoods farmed small tracts of land and herded
their livestock on the public domain. As their families and herds increased in
size, they required new homesteads and grazing lands. After 1842 [taking
advantage of the Armed Occupation Act and other statutes], dozens of such
families began migrating to south Florida, settling in the pine flatwoods and
hammocks. Typically, the families located in dispersed rural neighborhoods or
"settlements," where many of their neighbors were also kinsmen. Since each cow
needed almost two dozen acres of unfenced range, their homesteads were located
several miles apart, so cattle could forage in the intervening pinewoods.
After constructing pine-log houses and outbuildings on their homesteads,
ranchers cleared small corn fields from the hammocks, felling trees and
grubbing up the undergrowth. They also cleared tracts for the "cowpens"--split
rail corrals that protected calves and milk from predators. During the day,
cows ventured forth to graze in the woods, but at night, they returned to the
safety of the pens to feed their calves. Since the manure from the cows
fertilized even the poorest soils, old cowpens served admirably as gardens for
potatoes and other vegetables. Ranchers supplemented food crops with wild game
from the woods as well as pork from their range hogs and beef from their scrub
steers. Most of their livestock ranged over the unfenced woodlands in search
of seasonal forage, requiring little or no attention. During the late winter,
ranchers burned the pinewoods to reduce the underbrush, curb cattle ticks, and
foster the growth of spring grasses. And once or twice a year, ranching
families formed communal work groups to round up the cattle, brand the calves,
and select steers for sale. Cattle proved to be the ideal "cash crop," since
they cost so little to raise, and since they could be driven on the hoof to
the market.14

John Irving Hooker, 1822 -
1862, author's collection

Within a year of his arrival in Hillsborough County, Hooker was appointed a
justice of the peace. In 1847, two years after Florida became a state, William
was elected to the Board of County Commissioners. His younger brother John was
elected sheriff in the same election. Captain Hooker, now forty-seven years of
age, began to concentrate his activities in four different areas: (1) building
up a large herd of beef cattle; (2) pursuing other agricultural pursuits such as
citrus growing and cotton raising; (3) large-scale land acquisitions; and (4)
establishing himself and his family as a political power in Hillsborough County.
Hooker was present at an Independence Day celebration at Fort Brooke in 1847:

A very interesting Anniversary of American Independence was celebrated at
Fort Brooke on the 5th of July, by the Company of Florida Volunteers, and the
citizens of Hillsborough and the adjacent counties. As the sun rose
beautifully and clear, he was welcomed for the 7lst time by a salute from
American cannon in honor of our Republic’s birth. As the day advanced towards
10 o’clock, large numbers of citizens began to assemble, and at 10 1/2
o’clock, the troops were formed and marched to the Chapel. Appropriate seats
were reserved for the ladies and citizens, and although the house was full,
all were comfortably seated.

After a few minutes, the exercises commenced by prayer from the Rev. Mr.
Axtell, Chaplain USA.

This was followed by "Hail Columbia," from the audience, after which Col.
J. M. Palmer read the Declaration of Independence in a very impressive manner.
The "Star Spangled Banner" was then sung in full chorus.

In was now within a few minutes of 12, M., and the Artillery were prepared,
as the dial indicated the hour to give a National Salute from the Battery,
which was done without accident or fault.

Upon a previous invitation, every one now adjourned to the commanding
officer’s Quarters, where a sumptuous dinner had been tastefully prepared and
arranged by the ladies of his household amply sufficient to satisfy the
appetites of some three hundred persons, and many delicious melons, (such as
only Florida can produce) added much to the repast. The table was then cleared
, when Judge J. B. Allen read the following

REGULAR TOASTS.

[Then followed thirteen toasts to Independence Day, the President, the
memory of George Washington, the Constitution, the military, the country,
etc., and finally,- "Woman--the enduring tie that binds man to his home and
country." ]

[Volunteer toasts were then offered by distinguished citizens, over
twenty-five in number, including James McKay, William Ashley, John Parker,
Capt. John Montes de Oca, J. T. Magbee, Robert Jackson and Capt. W. B. Hooker.
Hooker offered the following toast]:

General Shields- "A commander of activity, zeal, and talent"--We hope his
wounds at Cerro Gordo will not be forgotten by his countrymen. . . .

An hour or two was now spent in visiting various parts of the Garrison, and
in the evening the Quarters of the Florida Volunteers were thrown open,
beautifully decorated with flags, transparencies, &c., in honor of the day,
our recent victories in Mexico, and our lamented dead that have fallen there.

The light "fantastic toe" began to weary as the small hours warned every
one "twas time to cease the pleasures of the day." Many will look back with
agreeable satisfaction to the happy Anniversary spent at Fort Brooke.15

Fort Brooke Officers'
Quarters,courtesy of the Florida
State Archives

The county tax lists are a principal source for determining the size of
cattle herds in pioneer Florida, although the figures are no doubt conservative
estimates of cattle ownership. In 1847, William B. Hooker owned 600 head of
cattle and in 1848, 800 head. By 1849, the figure had doubled to 1,675 and in
1850 he is listed with seven slaves and 2,000 head of cattle. The 1850 U.S.
census included an agricultural schedule which states that Hooker had 600 milch
cows, four working oxen and 1,900 "other cattle." He owned thirty-five sheep,
150 swine and his farm produced 400 bushels of "Indian Corn" and 200 bushels of
sweet potatoes. The total value of livestock was $13,355. Hooker listed himself
as a planter on the census rolls but his primary activity was stock raising.
Indeed he was the second largest cattle owner in the state, just behind Redding
W Parramore of Madison County who owned 2,606 head. Hooker’s closest competitors
in Hillsborough were William Hancock with 1,700 head and Jacob Summerlin with
652. In the early 1850s Summerlin also owned over 1,000 head in Orange County.
Hooker’s primary cattle brand was Heart H, which he registered in Hillsborough
County on April 12, 1852.16

The primary market for beef in the early 1850s was Savannah, Georgia, and the
drovers were "often gone for months on a drive to that city."17 Charleston,
South Carolina, was also a destination market for Florida beeves. By 1854,
however, cattle were being shipped to the West Indies and Key West. County
Commission minutes reveal that William B. Hooker held a lease on the market
place or market house in 1855 and was at that time advertising the sale of beef
in the local Florida Peninsular. He advised that from February 1, 1855,
only cash would be accepted. The 1855 tax lists show that Hooker’s herd had
grown to 4,500 head, the largest in the county. John Parker, Louis Lanier,
Daniel Sloan, James Alderman and Hooker’s younger brother, John, were all major
stock owners. Captain Hooker was the county’s fourth largest taxpayer, behind
sugar planters Robert Gamble and J. A. Braden and entrepreneur James
McKay. McKay, who opened the cattle trade with Cuba in 1858, was a close
associate of Hooker’s.18 In one early reference from McKay’s account book dated
December 14, 1855, Hooker acknowledged receipt of $405 from McKay "being in full
for twenty seven steers shipped on board sch[ooner] John Roalef."19

Grady McWhiney, who has advocated a Celtic interpretation of Southern
history, wrote that

the southern system of raising livestock on the open range was simple and
easy. Aside from marking and branding their animals, Southerners had little
more to do than round them up in the fall and either sell them to a buyer or
drive them to a market. One could even raise livestock without owning land. .
. .

The open range system of herding encouraged more than indifferent farming
and a leisurely lifestyle.20

According to McWhiney, it led to laziness. William B. Hooker
was many things but he was not lazy. Nor, for that matter, was he a Celt. He may
have been a rough-hewn "cracker" frontiersman but he wanted more from life than
the ownership of a large herd of scrub cattle. He was ambitious and acquisitive,
not afraid to take risks. Sometimes he made enemies, from persons jealous of his
success.

From the Tampa Florida
Peninsular, March 10, 1855

As Hooker's cattle herds grew in size, he looked east and south for new
grazing lands. In 1845, the United States government had established a neutral
zone barring white settlement within a twenty-mile strip north and west of the
area set aside by General Worth as a temporary Indian boundary in 1842 at the
close of the Second Seminole War. Worth made it clear that the neutral zone was
to extend twenty miles outward from the south branch of Peas Creek (Charlie
Apopka Creek). By 1848, Captain Hooker had driven cattle into a new grazing area
which became known as Hooker's Prairie, just at the northwest boundary of the
neutral zone. By the mid-1850s, the Hooker beeves roamed over present-day
Hillsborough, Manatee, Polk, Hardee, Highlands and Glades counties. Highlands
Hammock, now a state park, was originally known as Hooker Hammock. The Captain
had cattle pens at a crossing on Fisheating Creek near present-day Venus. Cattle
were shipped from Hooker’s Pens at a point on the north side of the lower
Manatee River known today as Hooker’s Point. The other, more famous Hooker’s
Point, which projects into Tampa Bay was also a shipping point for his cattle,
as well as one of his properties.21

Captain Hooker was a pioneer in the Florida citrus industry. In the year
1846, he planted an orange grove at the site of present-day Parrish, in Manatee
County. "His plantings were all ‘seedlings’-budding and grafting were then
unknown in the industry. That is to say he developed his groves from the seeds
of selected fruit."22 Hooker eventually acquired over 1,000 acres of land
near Fort Hamer and the Manatee River, about 800 acres of which were obtained
under the provisions of the 1847 Federal law which allowed 160 acre grants of
bounty land to persons who had served in the Mexican War. In late 1848 and early
1849, five veterans assigned their 160 acre warrants to Hooker. He selected the
property he wanted, built a log home and in 1853 ventured into the growing of
sea island cotton with William H. Johnson. Johnson was to cultivate thirty-three
acres of cotton on Hooker’s farm and Hooker was to build a cotton gin, gin the
crop and divide it equally with Johnson. Johnson claimed that Hooker failed to
divide the crop with him and sued Hooker in Hillsborough circuit court in 1854.
He prevailed, but Hooker appealed to the state supreme court and won a reversal
in 1856. Johnson sued again and won; this time the judgment was affirmed by the
high court. But the litigation dragged on until 1861, with jury awards to
Johnson of over $1,000; but by this time Johnson was dead. Captain Hooker was
frequently involved in litigation and several of the lawuits in which he was a
party went to the Florida Supreme Court for final action. His lawyers included
Tampa's finest: James Gettis and James T. Magbee.23

During the early 1850s, Hooker also purchased a large number of city lots in
Tampa, thus increasing his wealth. In April 1851, the County Commission granted
a lot on the northeast corner of Lafayette (Kennedy) and Morgan Streets to
William B. Hooker, Leroy G. Lesley, Franklin Branch, Alderman Carlton and C. A.
Ramsey as trustees for the Methodist Episcopal Church. Construction was soon
underway on a modest frame structure, Tampa's First Methodist Church. A Masonic
lodge was established in Tampa in 1850 and two years later, William B. Hooker
petitioned for membership in Hillsborough Lodge No. 25, Free and Accepted
Masons. He received the Entered Apprentice Degree on April 17, 1852 and the
Fellow Craft Degree on the evening of Saturday, August 7. The Lodge then went
from "Labor to Refreshment" and reconvened the following morning, August 8,
1852. Hooker and John Levi Skipper "being in waiting they were admitted and the
Sublime Degree of a Master Mason [was] conferred on them, . . ." Among those
present for the ceremony were Worshipful Master Joseph Moore, James McKay,
Stephen Hollingsworth and James T. Magbee. Benjamin Hagler, who became Hooker's
son-in-law in 1851, succeeded John Irving Hooker as sheriff in 1849 and remained
in office until 1853. John Parker was elected to the county commission in 1849
for a two-year term. Thus Hooker’s position and power were enhanced by the
presence of his relatives in high positions. Hooker and his wife Mary were
concerned that their children marry well and live comfortably. They gave $2,000
a year to each son-in-law. Captain Hooker was opposed to his daughter, Martha,
marrying Benjamin Hagler, whom he considered an "old fogy" with an irritating
speech impediment. He preferred that she marry her suitor, George G. Keen, from
Columbia County. But Mrs. Hooker prevailed, believing Sheriff Hagler to be a
wealthy match for her daughter. As it turned out, Martha married Hagler, but the
marriage eventually ended in divorce. Indeed, neither John Henry Hollingsworth,
who married Ann; William W. Stallings, who married Eliza Jane; nor Hagler were
wealthy men. Only William Parker, who married Hooker’s daughter Winaford, was a
man of any considerable wealth.24

Tampa Methodist Church. The
original building, without belfry and portico, was completed in 1852/53 under the
superintendency of the Rev. L. G. Lesley, its former pastor in 1849. Courtesy of the
Lesley Family

All of William B. Hooker’s activities came to a halt in December 1855 when
word reached Tampa of the Indian attack upon Lieutenant Hartsuff's surveying
party in southwest Florida. Tampa citizens quickly convened a meeting at the
courthouse on December 24. A visitor in Tampa wrote:

A list was. . . presented for the signatures of those who felt disposed to
fight for their country for all theyhelddear and sacred and for
the removal of the Seminoles. Several rose up at once and with a steady step and
solemn air marched up to the table and signed the paper. [Captain] Hooker, Rev.
. . .Lesley and Sherad Edwards were the first signers,
all of whom were Indian fighters in the last war. . . . 25

The Billy Bowlegs or Third Seminole War was underway. Hooker quickly
got to work and organized a company of mounted militia and marched to the frontier. A
volunteer, stationed at Fort Meade, wrote to the Tampa

Florida Peninsular on January 4, 1856:

On the arrival of Capt. Hooker on the 29th ult., he proceeded at once
to seek proper locations for troops on the line of Peas Creek. Four points were selected,
to wit: Fort Meade, Fort Hartsuff, about 25 miles south of Fort Meade, Fort Green, about
12 miles S.E. of the latter Post, and Fort Hooker, 16 miles North of Fort Meade. Each
station having 16 to 25 men; leaving a large party for general scouting. From these posts
a detachment of, perhaps, two-thirds of the command make daily scouts up and down the
Creek, or cross over as they may see proper. All the families on the South side of Peas
Creek have abandoned their places and are now forted at the above Posts. The command of
Captains Hooker and Leslie now amounts to 124 men, and made into two companies. Capt.
Leslie commands the upper and Capt. Hooker lower Peas Creek. You may judge something of
the spirit of Capt. Hooker, (who is denominated by the troops as the Old War Horse,) from
a portion of his orders to his Lieutenants at the several Posts. He says:  "Should you discover Indians, or
the trail of them, you will pursue them to the farthest extremity  sparing neither men or horses while on
that duty."

The war cry is "Hartsuff," and countersign "No
Compromise!"

The whole corps is subsisted entirely from the personal resources of
Capt. Hooker, who is ever active in procuring supplies; he having purchased all the
surplus produce in the country. If any one ever deserved the thanks of our citizens it is
himsparing no expense in carrying out their wishes. His advice to the settlers on
this side the line is, keep to your plantations, for I will keep the Indians back at all
hazards. Many, very many, would have abandoned their homes, had he not given them
protection.26

In a letter to Governor James Broome, January 3, 1856, Hooker wrote:

Your Excellency I am getting old now, former wars beginning to have their
effect on me; yet, while I can still sit in my saddle, or find a penny in my
purse, all -- yes, all --
shall be devoted to rid our state of this curse. I feel that I want to see my
beloved state free, before I close my eyes in eternal sleep; that my children,
at least, may sit under their own vine and fig tree, unmolested, and none to
make them afraid. This is my only wish.27

In February, Hooker’s company was mustered into Federal service at Fort
Meade. Hooker was headquartered at Fort Meade and a detachment under Lieutenant
John Parker was stationed at Fort Green in Manatee County28 The post at
Fort Green soon became a problem. It proved more difficult "to supply. . . than
any other post on the frontier."29 Chronic malcontent Matthew P. Lyons, probably
in league with his friend, Sergeant James D. Green of Hooker’s company,
criticized the army command and Captain Hooker in letters which were published
in the Tampa newspaper, the Florida Peninsular. Lyons complained that the
troops at Fort Green were lacking in ammunition for their weapons and food for
their horses.30

On June 14, 1856, Indians attacked the Willoughby Tillis place near Fort
Meade. Lieutenant Alderman Carlton and six men rushed from Fort Meade to offer
relief to the besieged family. In the attack, Carlton and two other men were
killed, including Hooker’s son-in-law, William Parker, and three wounded,
including another son-in-law, John Henry Hollingsworth. Only three men of the
seven-man force were from Hooker’s company. Lieutenant Streaty Parker of
Lesley’s company with eighteen men, pursued the Indians after the battle and
engaged them on the banks of Peas Creek, south of Fort Meade on June 16. Two
volunteers were killed and three were wounded. Three men from Hooker’s company
participated in the second battle. At least five Seminoles were killed although
as many as twenty may have died in the three-day affair.31

John Henry Hollingsworth, ca.
1822-1893, author's collection

In his official report, printed July 5, in the Florida Peninsular,
Captain Hooker explained that he marched a detachment "into the woods in search
of Indians as I supposed they would attack isolated homes of settlers on the
full of the moon,. . . "32 After scouting down the Alafia River and
noticing Indian signs, it was thought the Indians had headed south to Manatee.
After moving to that place and finding all quiet, the troops proceeded back to
Horse Creek where the Indians were known to obtain supplies of potatoes. They
camped on the night of June 15 and sent two men to Fort Green to ascertain the
situation there. About midnight they returned with word of the attack on the
Tillis place. Hooker and his men arrived at Brooker’s place on the east side of
Peas Creek about 2 p.m. on June 16 where the wounded men from the battle of that
day had been carried. Hooker consolidated his force and immediately went in
pursuit of the retreating Seminoles, south into the swamps along Peas Creek. By
the next day, "[s]everal of the men were sick, vomiting violently and their
clothes were badly torn, exposing their flesh to insects and weather."33 The
following morning, June 18, Hooker sent out a detachment to continue hunting the
Indians and then returned with the sick and disabled to Fort Meade.34

Matthew P. Lyons in a letter to Colonel Munroe at Fort Brooke, dated July 7,
accused Hooker of leaving Fort Meade and Fort Green without military protection
and taking his men on a beef scout to round up his cattle. Lyons, who was not
serving in any of the military units, charged Hooker with neglect of duty. He
referred Lieutenant John Parker and Sergeant James D. Green to Munroe for proof
of the charges. The charges were printed in the Florida Peninsular and
following their publication the Assistant Adjutant General at Fort Brooke
directed Hooker to provide Lyons’ letter to Parker and Green for verification or
denial. Green equivocated, saying he could not "say the Charges is true as
opinion has nothing to do with the matter. neither Can I exonerate the captain
as the report is Common amongst the members of the Company Commanded by Captain
Hooker." Parker, however, defended Hooker, saying "I believe the charges false
and will not sustain them."35 Hooker appeared to have the last word when he
printed a notice in the Florida Peninsular of August 16:

Mr. Editor-An editorial having appeared in your paper, a few weeks since,
relative to a communication from Matthew P Lyons, making charges of "serious
nature" against (as I presume every one is aware) myself, I feel it to be my
duty to state a few facts. Col. Monroe furnished me with a copy of said
serious charges, an investigation of the matter was commenced, and not one
charge was sustained. I now pronounce Matthew P. Lyons a liar, who has
attempted, by traducing my character, to advance the interests of his
friend.36

Four days later, with their six-month enlistment having expired, Hooker and
his entire company were honorably discharged from the United States service.37
Several revisionist historians in recent years have criticized Hooker’s actions,
asserting that had the post at Fort Meade been at "full strength the Indians
might have been defeated or even wiped out..."38 But all through the first half
of 1856, detachments of troops were constantly sent on scout to follow up rumors
and reports of Indian parties in the woods. Federal and state authorities
ordered troops from Peas Creek south to join the regulars and in early June of
1856, some of Hooker’s men, along with soldiers from other companies, had been
ordered to look for Indians in Hernando County. If Hooker had remained holed up
at Fort Meade he probably would have been criticized for that. Instead, he chose
to lead his men along the trails and into the swamps in search of the hostile
Indians. That was, after all, an important part of his job.39

As a final postscript to the 1856 controversy, a letter from Francis A. Page,
Assistant Adjutant General at Fort Brooke, to Captain Pleasanton, dated January
31,1857, is instructive. In arguing against re-establishing a guard at Fort
Green, Page wrote:

There is only a few individuals interested in the place and the principal
man who wants a guard there is [James D.] Green himself formerly of Hooker’s
company of volunteers, who is a good for nothing trifling disorganizer among
the volunteers.40

Immediately following his military service, William B. Hooker plunged into
political and civic activities in Tampa. On August 23, 1856, a meeting at the
courthouse promoting a railroad to Tampa appointed Hooker and several others as
delegates to attend an upcoming convention at Ocala. On August 25, he played a
prominent role in a county Democratic Party convention which nominated James
Gettis for the post of State Assemblyman. On September 2, he helped organize the
Tampa Democratic Club and was elected to the post of third vice president.
Finally, in the fall of 1856, Hooker was foreman of the Hillsborough Grand Jury.
The General Presentment of the Grand Jury called for (1) speedy repair of public
roads; (2) a good fence around the courthouse; (3) continued prosecution of the
Indian war; and (4) correcting defects in the state Internal Improvement Act.
One historian has asserted that Hooker "suffered" from the controversy
surrounding his record in the Seminole conflict, but the evidence of his
subsequent leadership role in Tampa and Hillsborough County affairs clearly
negates that assumption. At the presidential election of November 4, 1856,
William B. Hooker's name appears on the list of 172 voters at Tampa Precinct,
Number 2. 41

Hooker decided to quit the cattle business, and in two conveyances dated
December 25, 1857 and January 1, 1858, he conveyed his 1,000 acres in Manatee
County and his 6,000 head of cattle branded Heart H, with twelve to twenty
thousand pounds of seed cotton to his son Jasper and son-in-law, Benjamin Hagler,
for $35,095. Ten annual payments were set up with interest at 6% per annum.
Hooker also leased his ten slaves in Manatee County to the partners. However,
the arrangement was not successful and by September 1858, they were offering the
cattle, land and orange grove for sale. Hooker and Hagler dissolved the
partnership in July 1859. Captain Hooker was compelled to reenter the cattle
business and take over control of his extensive herds.42

In 1858 Hooker was elected to the Tampa City Council and often served as
Mayor protem in place of Mayor Madison Post. In that position, he presided over
the Mayor's Court. The most prominent defendant Hooker faced was the bibulous
Tampa lawyer, James T. Magbee. On June 15, 1858, Magbee appeared and pleaded not
guilty to the charge of violating the 5th ordinance, assault and battery. After
examining the witnesses, Hooker found Magbee guilty and fined him $10.00 plus
costs. Tampa experienced a wave of lawlessness and violence in the spring and
summer of 1858, in response to which a group of prominent local citizens
organized a Regulator or vigilante group. Magbee was a target of the Regulators
and Hooker may well have been sympathetic to their goals. No direct evidence has
been found that he was a member, but Mayor Post and other friends and associates
of Captain Hooker were active in the Regulator movement.43

William Jasper Hooker, 1836 -
1904, author's collection

Hooker was a victim of the
lawlessness in Tampa in early 1858 which spawned the Regulator Movement. From the
Tampa Florida Peninsular, April 10, 1858

Bill and Mary Hooker had five more children after their move to Hillsborough
County: Meroba Hair, born in 1845; Sarah Drucilla, born in 1846; James Newton,
born in 1848; Georgiann Florida, born in 1850; and Flora Ella, born in 1853.
Little Georgiann died in 1854, but the death of seventeen-year-old Julia from
typhoid in 1857 was especially poignant. The yellow fever epidemic which hit
Tampa in the fall of 1858 may have been responsible for the deaths of their
daughter Eliza Jane Stallings and two of her children. Interested in the
education of their children, the Hookers sent two of their daughters, Mary and
Meroba to the Southern Masonic Female College in Covington, Georgia, in the late
1850s to complete their education. Both daughters married well. On May 1, 1860,
Mary became the wife of the rising young Hernando Countian, Samuel E. Hope.
Later that year, on September 20, Meroba married Florida Peninsular
editor, Simon Turman, Jr. Hope ran an unsuccessful race for the state senate in
1860 and was opposed by the wily lawyer, James T. Magbee. Ironically, Turman
became embroiled in a feud with Hope and threw his support to Magbee.44

Samuel
Edward Hope

Mary
Henrietta Hooker Hope

Courtesy of Florida State Archives.
(Larger views not available)

By 1858, Tampa Bay residents had grown disenchanted with David Levy Yulee and
his Florida Railroad. Realizing that he had no intention of completing the line
to Tampa, citizens took matters into their own hands. On June 17, at a "mass
meeting" at Tampa City Hall, the Florida Peninsular Railroad Company was
organized with William B. Hooker and four other Tampans on the initial board of
directors. The General Assembly chartered the railroad in 1859, declaring that
the new line should commence at a point on the Florida Railroad and run to
Ocala, and then on to Tampa Bay. Capital stock was set at $600,000 with shares
at $100 each. On June 28, 1859, the stockholders met at Brooksville and elected
a nine-man board of directors with four Tampans: William B. Hooker, James McKay,
Samuel B. Todd, and James Gettis. Hooker was the second largest shareholder in
the company and the largest from Tampa, with 755 shares, representing an
investment of $75,500. In 1860, James McKay was elected president and Hooker was
reelected a director. The only construction, however, was a graded right of way
from Waldo to Ocala. The Civil War cut short any further development.45

The Florida Peninsular of May 21, 1859, included a story on the

magnificent and extensive building of Capt. Wm. B. Hooker-recently erected
in our City, and now in course of completion. This is a large building-two
stories in height, and contains 33 or 34 rooms, with passages, piazzas, etc.,
to correspond. It is constructed in a substantial and workman-like manner,
and, when finished, will present a handsome as well as formidable appearance.
What the original design of Capt. Hooker was, we are not aware; we know,
however, that his building will prove an ornament to Tampa and a monument to
the public spirit of the projector. Being conveniently located and arranged
for an hotel, it will answer for that purpose, but in its construction, is
pre-eminently adapted for a family boarding house. The plan is admirable,
every room being well ventilated and all the requisites for comfort supplied
with good taste. Portable partitions will constitute the divisions on the
lower floor; hence, the whole compass of the building can be easily thrown
into one large room. When we discovered this arrangement the conclusion was
irresistible that the Capt. had in view the enjoyment of Young America as well
as his own comfort, and we involuntarily asked ourself, What a glorious place
for 4th of July festivities! a camp meeting! or, a Dance!46

The hand-sawed timber which was used to construct the building was shipped to
Tampa from Pensacola. Located at the northwest corner of Madison and East
Streets, the building was almost sixty-nine feet in length and thirty-eight feet
wide. Nails were scarce in those days, so the timbers were cut to fit one piece
into another, fastened by wooden dowels. Some of the supports were nearly a yard
wide and supporting uprights were three by sixes.47

By the summer of 1860, Captain Hooker, once again a stock drover, was
involved in driving cattle in Manatee County from the backwoods to his pens at
the mouth of the Manatee River. Jasper Hooker was still agent for his father
when the 1860 census was taken. Captain Hooker owned 9,000 head in Manatee
County valued at $48,750. The more conservative county tax list gave 8,060 head
as the total. At any rate, only Moses Barber of New River County, credited with
owning 10,020 head, surpassed Hooker. But Captain Hooker was still considered by
his contemporaries to be the Cattle King of Florida. The 1860 census for
Hillsborough County shows Hooker owner of $17,660 in real estate and $6565 in
personal property. He had eight slaves in Hillsborough and in Manatee he owned
nine with his son Jasper as agent. He did not ignore Manatee County politics.
The young county, which had been carved out of the southern portion of
Hillsborough in 1855, was experiencing political conflict between the settlers
in the eastern Peace River section and the more settled and wealthier Manatee
section. In the fall of 1859, Captain Hooker’s brother-in-law, William Calvin
Hair, was elected to the county commission. He had only been in the county about
a year and his election to the board was certainly helpful to Hooker. Former
sheriff, tax assessor and collector James D. Green was also elected to the
board. Hooker and Green had crossed swords during the Third Seminole War and his
presence on the board could not have been welcomed by Hooker. Green was
eventually barred from taking his seat because of alleged irregularities in the
handling of his accounts as sheriff and tax collector. Ironically, Jasper
Hooker, the captain’s son, who had been the next-highest vote recipient in the
1859 election, assumed the office of county commissioner.48

By the fall of 1860, Captain Hooker decided to retire and sell his entire
herd. He ran the following notice in the Florida Peninsular on October
13, 1860:

NOTICE TO STOCK GATHERERS. Having sold my entire Stock of Cattle this day,
notice is hereby given, to all persons interested, of the fact, and also to
forewarn all Stock-gatherers or other persons against killing, driving, or in
any way interfering with said stock or any portion of it -- except when done
for thebenefit of the stock

W. B. HOOKER49

The transaction was finalized on January 1, 1861, when Hooker sold his 10,000
head to James McKay for $40,000. Actually, McKay was acting as agent for rising
cattleman Jacob Summerlin and he transferred the herd to Summerlin on May 31,
1861. This sale made Summerlin the new cattle king of Florida. The Manatee tax
lists reveal the impact of this transaction for in 1860 Summerlin owned 3,500
head and in 1861 he had 10,300 head of cattle.50

Captain Hooker now helped to coordinate the secession movement in
Hillsborough County. A boarder in his home in 1860 was Tampa's Methodist
minister, the Reverend Oscar A. Myers, a fire-eating advocate of disunion.
Son-in-law, Simon Turman, Jr., editor of the Florida Peninsular, was also
a strong proponent of Southern independence. Another boarder in 1860 was English
musician and composer James A. Butterfield. He organized a music academy,
established a municipal band, and wrote the music for the famous ballad, When
You and I Were Young, Maggie. A mass meeting was held at Alafia on November
24, 1860, and the General Assembly was urged to call a convention to take
Florida out of the Union. Captain Hooker, his wife, and son Jasper, attended the
meeting and signed the petition calling for a state convention to consider the
matter. When the news arrived from Tallahassee that Florida had seceded from the
Union in January 1861, Tampans celebrated with cannon fire, the pealing of bells
and fireworks. In the first part of 1861, Hooker's attentions were also
addressed to the establishment of a Royal Arch Mason chapter in Tampa. This
advanced degree of Freemasonry included his friends and "brothers" Madison Post,
R. B. Thomas, John Darling and others. The Civil War began in April, and later
that month a militia company for home defense known as "The Silver Grays," was
established. It was made up of those citizens who were not subject by law for
militia duty. Most were older gentlemen, and William B. Hooker was among their
number. In September, before Captain John T. Lesley's "Sunny South Guards" went
off to war, they were feted at a ceremony from the porch of the officers'
quarters at Fort Brooke. A "Stars and Bars" Confederate flag was presented to
the company and a group of young girls from the community, dressed in white with
blue sashes, recited a poem honoring each of the eleven Confederate States. Miss
Sallie Hooker was the ninth to recite her stanza, celebrating the state of
Arkansas. In November of that year Hooker, Alfonso DeLaunay and Madison Post
served on a committee to meet with Fort Brooke commander Major Bowen to assist
him in providing supplies and equipment for the garrison. Many Tampans soon
refugeed inland, especially after the Union ship bombardments in the spring of
1862. By May 1862, Captain Hooker and his family had moved to Hernando County,
where he purchased over 1,100 acres of land and set up his plantation about two
miles west of Brooksville. Hooker, the planter, raised cotton and corn and
cultivated peaches, grapes, plums, mulberry and banana orchards. With twenty
slaves in 1863 he was the fifth largest taxpayer in the county.51

William Jasper Hooker, the captain’s first son, enlisted May 10,1862, in
Captain Gettis’ Company B, Seventh Florida Infantry. However, the same day he
replaced himself with a substitute, William E. Sweat. Samuel E. Hope, a
son-in-law, enlisted June 21, 1862, as captain of the Brooksville Guards, which
became Company C, Ninth Florida Infantry. Simon Turman, Jr., another son-in-law,
joined Company E, Seventh Florida Infantry, a unit known as the South Florida
Bulldogs, May 14, 1862. He rose to the rank of first lieutenant on November 20,
1863 and was wounded in the lungs at Resaca, Georgia, May 14, 1864. He died
eight days later on May 22 and was buried in Atlanta’s Oakland Cemetery. Captain
Hooker’s younger son, James Newton, served late in the war in Captain Leroy G.
Lesley’s Company C, Munnerlyn's Cattle Battalion.52

Simon Turman, Jr., ca. 1829 -
1864, courtesy of Vivian Shelton

Mary Amanda, the captain’s wife of over thirty-two years, died January 2,
1863, a victim of cancer. Leroy G. Lesley, who was also a Methodist minister and
who lived on a nearby plantation, wrote the following in her obituary:

For the last 15 months she had been an example of patient suffering which
few are called to endure. Herdisease was cancer. Great as were her
sufferings, she could always say "the Lord’s will, not mine be done." She was
a good woman, always ready to make sacrifices for the benefit of others. In
her death, the church and the poor have lost one of their best friends, and
the way worn travelling preacher one of their best homes greatly impaired, and
her husband, children and servants have met an irreparable loss.53

In March 1864, in Marion County, Hooker married Nancy Josephine (McCreight) Cathcart, a widow from Ocala with seven children. Her first husband, William M.
Cathcart, enlisted in Company G, Seventh Florida Infantry, May 10, 1862 and died
of disease at Camp Lee, May 23, 1862.54

The Hooker plantation was not immune from Union attacks for in July 1864,
Federal forces landed at the Anclote River and marched northeast to the vicinity
of Brooksville.

FromDavid Hope’s plantation we marched to Mr. William Hooker’s
three miles distant, the Capt. being absent carrying his negro property out of
reach of the yankees as we were termed. Mrs. Hooker saved the sacking of her
effects by furnishing Capt. Bartholf and his officers of the colored troops
with dinner and a change of shirts, the refugees and their officers refusing
to accept anything but melons which we found in abundance on the farm.55

Union Lieutenant William McCullough who wrote the above account, elaborated
further:

…..the officers in command promised Capt. Wm. Hooker’s family protection if
they would give them breakfast and a shirt each. This the ladies promised to
do, and did it in good faith, but on the eve of taking up the line of march,
the negro troops were pillaging in the out houses. At length the order for
marching came, and Capt. Bartholf being somewhat in the rear of the command,
ran thru a patch of gourd vines, and as was getting over the fence, discovered
his negro troops picking up goods of some kind, and went back, took up his
armful of lady’s wear, cleared the fence, mounted his horse, and rode to the
front with his armsfull of lady’s dresses, underskirts, chemises, like
a true and gallant officer of the government, and army ofthe U.S., and
commanding on this raid. I being left behind to see the last man leave, about
the time the last man got over the fence, one of the ladys saw her shawl, and
requested the man to give it to her, and seeing he refused, asked me to get it
for her which I did, remarking to the man that we were not at war with women
and children, that by kind acts we would gain many friends to the Union
cause.56

When the war ended in 1865, Hooker, because his wealth was greater than
$20,000, was among those required under President Johnson’s reconstruction plan
to personally petition the president if he wished to obtain a pardon. Hooker
took the amnesty oath on September 19 and applied for the pardon October 10. It
was granted November 19, 1865..57

The Orange Grove Hotel during
the 1876 - 77 winter season. Judge and Mrs. Henry L. Crane, who operated the hotel,
are standing on the left side of the second floor porch. Sidney Lanier has been
identified by contemporaries as the man standing on the far right side of the second floor
porch with his leg propped on the rail. But D. B. McKay in the Tampa Tribune, March
6, 1955, said Lanier is standing at the left end of the first floor veranda. The
original of this photo was owned by Mrs. Samuel E. (Mary Hooker) Hope, later Mrs. Clara
(Hope) Baggett and now Mr. and Mrs.L. E. Vinson of Tarpon Springs.

Hooker's signature appears on
this receipt dated March 4, 1867. From the Lesley Family Collection, courtesy
University of South Florida Special Collections.

In the spring of 1866, Captain Hooker and his family returned to Tampa, to
their home on Madison Street. The new Mrs. Hooker, who had operated a hotel in
Ocala with her first husband, may have convinced the captain to turn the mansion
into a hotel. Hooker was in debt and facing creditors, so the decision to become
an innkeeper was a wise one.58 In April 1866, Hooker announced the opening
of the Orange Grove Hotel:

This house, having just been renovated, and refitted, is now ready for the
reception of boarders. Regular and day boarders will find this a comfortable
and convenient house, and every attention will be paid to the wants of
travellers. The table will be filled with the best the market affords, and the
charge will be reasonable.

The climate, the sea breeze, fish, oysters &c., makes this a place of
resort, for health and pleasure.

Stables are attached to the premises where horses, will be well attended
to.

W. B. Hooker, Proprietor59

Hooker also began to sell off his property. On July 16, 1866, he sold the
Fort Hamer tract, over 500 acres consisting of a log house, orange grove and
other improvements to Charles A. Turner, son of Major William I. Turner, for
$1,000. Major Turner named the place Oak Hill and later it became the center of
the small town of Parrish. Hooker also began selling off many of his town lots
in Tampa. A judgment in favor of William B., John A., and James F. Henderson was
entered against Hooker and Benjamin Hagler in the fall term of circuit court in
1866. Block 52 of the Town of Tampa, the Orange Grove Hotel property, was sold
at public sale, March 4, 1867, to satisfy the judgment. In an apparently
pre-arranged agreement, son-in-law Sam Hope bought the property for $2,555. The
Hendersons received the $720.74 due them and Hooker was reimbursed the balance
of $1,834.26. In August 1867, Hooker managed to protect his Orange Grove Hotel
property from creditors by means of a trust deed from son-in-law Sam Hope,
naming Hooker as trustee of the property for the benefit of Hooker’s children
and heirs. At the spring term of circuit court in 1867, three judgments were
entered against him. Perry G. Wall, executor of the John Eubanks estate, won a
judgment of $715.50 in an assumpsit action. Kennedy and Darling and J. R.
Fulmore also obtained judgments against Hooker. A sheriff’s sale was ordered for
December 2, 1867, to sell off much of his Hillsborough County property,
including that at Simmons Hammock. Hooker, however, still had a trick up his
sleeve. He petitioned Major Richard Comba, commander of the United States
occupation troops at Fort Brooke, for a postponement of the sale of his
property. Comba received approval from his superiors and ordered a delay of six
months until June 2, 1868. On August 17, 1867, he put up his Hernando County
plantation for sale and announced an auction on November 2. But the land did not
sell and in March 1869 it was finally sold at a sheriff’s sale in Hernando
County to satisfy the earlier judgment in favor of Perry G. Wall.60

From the Tampa Florida Peninsular, August 17, 1867

Dedicated June 1992, corner of
Kennedy Blvd. and East Street, Tampa, FL.

Captain Hooker tried to remain active in local affairs, attending Democratic
party and railroad meetings. However, his health was declining and for a time he
drank heavily, no doubt saddened by the financial reverses of the post-war
years. He and his wife Nancy separated in early 1869, when she released her
dower rights in his estate in exchange for notes in the amount of $2,400. Later
that year, he turned over management of the hotel to his daughter Meroba and his
son-in-law, Henry L. Crane. In December of 1870, the Tampa newspaper reported
that Hooker had been seriously ill and was staying at Live Oak. His will, dated
December 5, 1870, left modest bequests to his children and two of his orphaned
grandchildren. He left all of his books and the secretary in which they were
kept to his son, James N. Hooker. Finally, he named his son James and his
"trusty and well tried and worthy friend and son in law Henry L. Crane" as
executors.61

The end came six months later in the early morning hours of June 11, 1871.
That afternoon at 4 p.m., members of Hillsborough Lodge No. 25, Free and
Accepted Masons, met in special session at the lodge building. They then marched
in procession to the Hooker residence where the funeral service was performed by
the chaplain. Then the lodge members and others accompanied the body to the
grave yard where final Masonic honors were granted to Captain Hooker. Today, an
impressive stone obelisk marks his grave in Oaklawn Cemetery where he rests
along with Tampa’s other pioneers.62

His obituary in the Florida Peninsular spoke of Hooker’s many
accomplishments and praised his generosity:

In prosperity Capt. Hooker was a friend to the destitute, and in adversity
he would divide the last dollar he had with those whom he thought needed itmore than himself.63

The Royal Arch Mason chapter of which Hooker was a member, published a
lengthy memorial resolution:

Our companion, William B. Hooker, . . . was "marked" on the 23d, and "presided" on the 25th, February, and was
"received and acknowledged" on the 5th, and "exalted" on the 9th of March, A.
D. 1861; and he thus became a member of Tampa Royal Arch Chapter, No. 17, of
Free and Accepted Masons of Florida.

His death, although he had arrived at the good age of three score years and
ten, was not induced directly by the wear and tear of wasting years, but by a
destructive disease, past the skill of medical science to arrest. . . .

Our departed companion was not unknown as a patriot, as a defender of civil
and religious liberty, and as an influential citizen. Being the head of a
numerous family of blood relations and collateral affinities by marriage, he
was a power for good in the county of his residence. For the numerous
dependents of his own household, he provided bountifully, and his home was
ever open to the stranger and none, however poor, ever left it hungry or
naked. He was in the main a good man, though by no means perfect. Let us
remember and imitate his virtues and let his faults, whatever they were, be
buried out of sight with his mortal remains in the grave. Let us, beloved
companions, look back over the past of our own lives and see what little good
we have to boast of, and be wise while we have the opportunity.64

Tampa historian Charles E. Harrison, who first came to Tampa in 1867,
described Hooker as "a man of much individuality and strong convictions,
possessing in an eminent degree the power of initiative."65 D. B. McKay
echoed Harrison’s statements and lauded Hooker as an early advocate of good
roads who laid out and cleared the first road from central Hillsborough County
to the Manatee River.66

Clearly, William Brinton Hooker was an impressive figure in the early growth
and development of Florida. As a blazer of trails, citrus grower, soldier and
framer of the state’s first constitution, he deserves to be remembered. But most
of all, as a founder of Florida’s beef cattle industry, Hooker left his mark on
the pioneer history of Florida.

Hooker's membership certificate in the
Washington National Monument Society. Hooker's wife, Mary, was one of the "collecting
agents" in Tampa for the Ladies Washington National Monument society. Author's
collection.